WaPo: FBI Got FISA Warrant To Surveil Trump Aide Carter Page

The FBI obtained an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to monitor the communications of Carter Page, a campaign aide to President Donald Trump, for its probe into any connections between the Trump campaign and Russia, the Washington Post reported Tuesday night, citing unnamed law enforcement and other American officials.

The FBI received the secret order after arguing to the FISA court that there was probable cause to believe Page was acting as a Russian agent, the officials told the Washington Post. However, Page has not been accused of committing any crimes.

He denied wrongdoing to the Washington Post.

“This confirms all of my suspicions about unjustified, politically motivated government surveillance,” Page told the Post on Tuesday “I have nothing to hide.”

Page left the Trump campaign in September following a Yahoo News report that U.S. intelligence officials were investigating whether he met with Russian officials during a July trip to Moscow. At the time, Page denied that he met with Russian officials mentioned in reports.

Months later, Buzzfeed News reported in early April that Page met with and gave documents to a Russian intelligence official in 2013. Page confirmed that he gave information to a Russian agent, but said that only shared “basic immaterial information and publicly available research documents.”

The FBI’s application for a FISA warrant noted Page’s meeting with a Russian intelligence official in 2013, according to the Washington Post.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Caitlin MacNeal is a News Writer based in Washington, D.C. Before joining TPM, Caitlin interned and wrote for the Huffington Post, the Sunlight Foundation and Slate. She is a graduate of Georgetown University.